VI.-12. "The sixth seal." The first six seals relate to the state of the church and the Romish empire, between the beginning of Christ's ministry, and A. D. 323, when Heathenism was overturned; the seventh reaches from thence to the end of the world, Rev. v. vi. viii. The sealing of God's book of purposes with seven seals, imports the deep obscurity and secrecy thereof, till discovered by Christ and gradually opened in the course of his providence towards the church.-Brown.

VII. 2. "Having the seal of the living God." The bearing of a seal is a token of a high office, either by succession or deputation. Gen. xli. 42. Esther viii. 2. Josephus gives several instances of this. Thus in Aristophanes, the taking away of the ring signifies the discharging of a chief magistrate.-Burder's Oriental Customs, vol. ii. page 388.

VII.9. "And palms in their hands."-See note at Matthew xxi. 8, 9.

VIII.1. There was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour." Most interpreters agree that this silence in heaven for half an hour is an allusion to the manner of the temple worship, while the priest offered incense in the holy place, the people prayed without in silence, Luke i. 10. On the day of expiation the whole service was performed by the high priest, to which particular service Sir I. Newton has observed an allusion. "The custom was on other days, for one of the priests to take fire from the great altar in a silver censer, but on this day, for the high priest to take fire from. the great altar in a golden censer; and when he was come down from the great altar, he took incense from one of the priests who brought it to him, and went with it to the golden altar; and while he offered the incense, the people prayed without in silence; which is the silence in heaven for half an hour."-See Burder's Oriental Customs, vol. ii. page 390.

IX. 5. "Five months." According to the language

of prophecy, we reckon a year for a day: five months, therefore, will be 150 years.

IX.

-11.

"Abaddon." The abstract is here used for the concrete. In Hebrew, this word signifies destruction or death.

IX.- -19. For their power is in their mouth and in their tails." The power in the mouth and in the tails, as serpents, is plainly an allusion to those serpents which are supposed to have two heads, one at each end of their body; as Pliny describes the amphisbæna; geminum caput amphisbænæ, hoc est ad caput, et ad caudam, tanquam parum esset uno ore fundi venenum. A proper representation of a furious and terrible invasion.-See Burder's Oriental Customs, vol. i. page 395.

X.-10. "And I took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it up." Mr. Lowman's paraphrase is, “I accordingly took the little book out of the angel's hand, and deeply meditated on the contents of it; and found it contain, in part, things of great consolation, and, in part, things that gave me great concern and sorrow.-See Valpy's Greek Testament.

XI.-2.

'But the court which is without the temple. leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles." There was a sort of proselytes among the Jews, called strangers of the gate. These were foreigners, who did not embrace the Jewish religion, (and are therefore improperly called proselytes) yet were suffered to live among the Jews under certain restrictions; as that they should not practice idolatry; that they should not blaspheme the God of Israel; and that they should keep the Jewish sabbath: these strangers were, moreover, permitted to worship the God of Israel in the outer court of the Gentiles. To this is the reference in the

charge given to the angel in the passage above cited.-See Burder's Oriental Customs, vol. ii. p. 390.

XII.—1. "And there appeared a great wonder in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars." It was a well known custom at the time of this prophecy, to represent the several virtues and public societies, by the figure of a woman in some peculiar dress, many of which are to be seen on the Roman coins; in particular Salus, the emblem of security and protection, is represented as a woman standing upon a globe, to represent the safety and security of the world under the emperor's care, as in a coin of Hadrian; globum pede calcans, significans se imperante, orbi salutem publicam datam. The consecration of the Roman emperors is expressed in their coins by a moon and stars, as in two of Faustina, to express a degree of glory superior to any on earth.-See Burder's Oriental Customs, vol i. p. 397.

XIII. 1. "Having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy." The seven heads, are supposed to intimate the seven hills on which Rome stood; and the ten horns, the ten kingdoms into which its dominions were to be divided. The name of blasphemy: the Roman emperors styled themselves divi, and the bishops of Rome assumed the titles of vicegerents of Christ, God upon earth, and vice-God. Doddridge observes, Those must have very little acquaintance with the arrogant titles which have been assumed or admitted by the popes, who did not discern in them a very remarkable illustration of this prophecy.

XIII.-17. "And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark," &c. Persons excommunicated from the Church of Rome, were actually interdicted from buying and selling. See Valpy's Greek Testament.

It was customary for soldiers and slaves to receive a mark in their hands or foreheads, that it might be known to whom they belonged: and idolaters were likewise marked with the signature of the god they worshipped.-Ostervald.

XIII. 18. "Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is six hundred threescore and six." Among the prodigious variety of interpretations given to this text, none, says Doddridge, pleases me so well as that of Sir Isaac Newton; that the man of Latium, or Rome, whose numeral letters in the original, taken together, make six hundred and sixty-six, is the number here referred to. And I suppose this number is mentioned to signify, that the appearance of that power, whose efforts were to continue one thousand two hundred and sixty years, was to happen about six hundred and sixty years after the date of the Revelation, A. D. 96. And this I take to be the grand key by which the æra of the fall of Babylon is to be calculated, as it fixes the rise of the beast to the year 756, or thereabouts, when, upon the destruction of the exarchate of Ravenna, the pope became a temporal monarch; i. e. in the prophetic language, a beast.

XIV. -1. "Lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion," &c. The true reading is, the Lamb; the well known symbol of Christ. See Valpy's Greek Testament.

XIV. 13. From henceforth." Some lay great stress on this part of the text, as affording a strong argument against a purgatory.

XVI.-5. "The angel of the waters." Among the Jews there was an officer, who was a priest, appointed to take care of the wells, fountains, and ditches about Jerusalem, that the people might have water at the feasts: in this office was Nicodemon ben Gorion, thought to be the Nicodemus mentioned in the gospel. Dr. Lightfoot thinks that there is a

reference to this person in the expression, the angel of the waters.-Burder's Oriental Customs, vol. ii. page 391.

The above remark may assist us in elucidating that apparently difficult passage at John v. 4. "For an angel (messenger) went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled (stirred up) the water." There is, certainly, an objection to referring the word angel or messenger in this latter passage, to such an officer at Jerusalem; since, in that case, the word in the Greek would have the article; whereas it is without it.

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XVI. 15. Blessed is he that watcheth and keepeth his garments," &c. Dr. Lightfoot thinks that here is an allusion to what the Jewish officer, called the man of the mountain, used to do when taking his round in the temple to examine the watch, if he met with any asleep, he had liberty to set fire to his garments.-Ostervald.

XVII.

-5. And upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery, Babylon the Great." It has been observed by interpreters, that lewd women were accustomed to have their names written over their doors, and sometimes on their foreheads; and that criminals among the Romans had an inscription of their crimes carried before them.-See Burder's Oriental Customs, vol. i. p. 398.

XVII. 10. "And there are seven kings: five are fallen," &c. These five species of government which are fallen, are supposed to be kings, consuls, dictators, decemvirs, and military tribunes. Both Livy aud Tacitus enumerate the different modes of Roman government, that prevailed before the emperors, exactly in this manner. Romani sub regibus primum, consulibus deinde, ac dictatoribus, decemvirisque, ac tribunis consularibus gessere.-See Valpy's Greek Testament.

XIX.-10. "I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus." It It appears evident